Reading for Me

Greetings, fellow readers! It has been far too long since we have spoken. While there are reasons for my absence, explanations would not be beneficial at this point. Instead, I want to briefly summarize my reading in 2023 and tell you about my plans for 2024. New year, new start, clean slate.

2023 was not my most productive reading year. I read 34 books and a total of 13,823 pages. On the surface, those stats don’t look so bad. The problem is that 11 of these were audio books that I listened to while driving cross country. 18 of the 34 books are considered romances — beach reads. In other words, I did very little reading with a book (or ebook) in hand in 2023….and that’s not acceptable to me at all.

So it’s time to have a new approach.

In 2024, I will once again participate in Booklist Queen’s Reading Challenge. I like the flexibility of the prompts and how they are designed to encourage reading outside of my comfort zone. However, this year I intend to plan my reading selections for the month rather than simply reading whatever is close at hand — regardless of its quality. Last year, I was forcing my selections to meet the reading prompts rather than proactively selecting interesting works to engage my heart while challenging my mind.

Let’s look at the challenge prompts I have selected for January and the books I have chosen.

• The Mill on the Floss – George Eliot (written under a pseudonym)
• Dear Reader – Cathy Rentzenbrink (inspiring non-fiction)
• All My Knotted-Up Life – Beth Moore (audio book)
• On the Way to the Wedding – Julia Quinn (meant to read last year)

As you can see, the selections are varied with only one piece of popular fiction…..because I need to finish the Bridgerton series and get the temptation off of my plate.

While planning for 2024, I came across the idea of reading a book by a single author each month in order to dive more deeply into the style and key themes. I liked this idea a lot, but (of course) I needed to modify things a bit. I feared that I would become bored by looking at a single author, so I came up with my version of the challenge that I’m calling 12 Months, 2 Authors. I’ve selected an author of classic literature and a contemporary author that I have enjoyed and want to know more of their works. You have probably already guessed one of my selected authors. In 2024, I’ll be reading 6 works by George Eliot (1819-1880) and 6 by Herman Wouk (1915-2019). The plan is to examine Eliot’s works in odd months and Wouk’s writings in the even. In no particular order, here are the 12 books I’m planning to read.

• George Eliot
  • Adam Bede (1859)
  • The Mill on the Floss (1860)
  • Silas Marner (1861)
  • Romola (1863)
  • Middlemarch (1871-1872)
  • Daniel Deronda (1876)
• Herman Wouk
  • The Caine Mutiny (1951)
  • This is My God: The Jewish Way of Life (1959)
  • War and Remembrance (1978)
  • The Hope (1993)
  • The Glory (1994)
  • The Lawgiver (2012)

Blogging was another problematic aspect of my reading. My intention was to post a review about each book as I finished. Inevitably, I would get busy, get behind in posts, and simply never write my thoughts. Further, this pattern did not allow me to provide regular updates when my reading wasn’t moving forward. That’s an important part of my process because it allows me to examine what is getting in the way of my reading life and attempt to find solutions. So in 2024, the plan is to post every other Friday and update you on what I have finished reading, what I’m in the process of reading, and what I’m thinking about it all. Look for the first installment at the end of this week.

Let’s see if I can get my reading life back on track in 2024!

Kennith